By Patrick M. O’Connell
The St. Louis Post-Dispatch
ST. LOUIS COUNTY — Concerned with issues of possible workplace intimidation and harassment, the Mehlville Fire Protection District Board of Directors is conducting an investigation.
Officials have not made public any specific allegations, and union officials say the whole thing appears to be unfounded. Mehlville is the largest fire district in St. Louis County.
The board started the investigation April 22, on the same night members voted to suspend two district employees, with pay, pending the investigation’s outcome. In a closed session May 8, the suspension was continued without pay.
The reason for the discipline is unclear, and the two employees’ names and positions have not been released.
Board Chairman Aaron Hilmer said the investigation, contracted to Metro Security at $75 an hour, was launched in part because the board has “valid concerns about racial discrimination and harassment.” An incident occurred within the past few months that became the last straw, Hilmer said. He declined to provide specifics.
Hilmer also said there have been disciplinary problems in the department.
“It’s becoming a very clear safety problem for the employees and, eventually, for the citizens,” Hilmer said.
Fire Chief James Silvernail said the suspended employees are a firefighter and a paramedic.
The chief said he doesn’t know much about the situation. “The board does the investigation,” he explained, “I do the day to day.”
Asked whether racial discrimination or harassment is an issue, Silvernail replied, “I really can’t say that.”
He added, “As far as the day-to-day operations, as far as going to fires and EMS calls, I’ll keep that under control.”
Officials with the union representing district employees say the suspensions and the investigation are unfounded.
John Goffstein, an attorney for International Association of Fire Fighters Local 1889, said the actions are the result of nothing more than politics and ongoing tension between the board and the union.
“They’re making much ado about nothing,” Goffstein said.
The board has not informed the two employees why they have been suspended, Goffstein said, and added that the two “haven’t done anything wrong.”
Louie Wright, 2nd District vice president for the International Association of Fire Fighters, which includes Mehlville, said union officials have received no documentation from the board about alleged wrongdoing. The union also has not been made aware of any pending complaints, either internally or from the public, Wright said.
“That’s most unusual, that you will investigate without a complaint or a charge,” Wright said. “I don’t have any specifics. And absent a complaint, it’s not just difficult, it’s impossible, to know what their interest or concern is ... I’m frankly mystified.”
As far as any undercurrent of racial discrimination or harassment in the department, Wright said the union “has no information to suggest that that’s at play here.”
The Mehlville fire district has 109 employees who work 24-hour shifts, including seven women and four African-Americans, according to information provided by the board.
The district provides fire and emergency medical service from seven stations to about 110,000 people living in a 52-square-mile area.
A resolution authorizing the investigation passed 3-0, ordering each district employee to cooperate or face discipline, “up to and including termination.”
Wright said employees will cooperate as long as they have legal or union representation present during any investigative interviews. Goffstein has urged union members to be professional and “just endure it until it’s over.”
The investigation will conclude, Hilmer said, when either no problem is discovered or the issues are corrected. Hilmer said he expects “a shake-up as far as how business is done” in the department but again did not provide specifics as to what that might entail.
“I don’t think there are problems that can’t be solved,” Hilmer said.
Goffstein, however, said the board’s actions are counterproductive.
“The public will suffer, and the fire service will suffer,” Goffstein said. “There’s no reason for this. The public deserves better.”
Copyright 2008, The St. Louis Post-Dispatch